Build Realty house flipping overview:
- Who: A group of consumers is suing Build Realty.
- Why: The plaintiffs say the company advertised itself as a one-stop-shop for flipping houses for profit, but it was allegedly a scam.
- Where: The Build Realty house flipping lawsuit was filed in an Ohio federal court.
A racketeering lawsuit is progressing against a company that marketed itself as a “one-stop shop” for house flipping, but allegedly scammed consumers out of their savings.
The lawsuit against Build Realty — which also does business as Greenleaf Funding — was originally filed in an Ohio federal court in February 2019, WCPO reports.
U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Cole certified the suit as class action Feb. 21.
According to the lawsuit, Build Realty and other companies (including Edgar Construction, First Title, Gary Bailey and George Triantafilou) advertised through seminars, social media, websites and other media that it would teach people how to flip homes with little or no money down and no credit checks.
The plaintiffs say the company told them it was buying homes in bulk and it would pass the savings onto them. However, the lawsuit alleges the company in fact bought from the market, marked up the property and sold it to plaintiffs at a marked-up price.
Alleged victims believed they had signed a contract for purchase, but they never actually owned the property, instead becoming the beneficiaries of a trust, they say.
Life savings lost in alleged scheme
Meanwhile, the students said they were tricked by deceptive marketing and ambiguous contract terms through a complex racketeering scheme that was based on mail fraud.
One class and a subclass have been certified in the case.
The class is made up of anyone who paid $10,000 or more to Build Realty to become an investor.
There is also a subclass made up of those who lost their properties when Build Realty reclaimed them or resold them due to default, WCPO reports.
Some people allegedly lost their life savings in the scheme, with alleged damages estimated to be in the millions, the outlet reports.
Olga Feree said she lost tens of thousands of dollars she paid Build Realty to renovate a two-family home.
“They would always feed me all of this nonsense and lead me on and say, ‘Oh, it’s a great investment,’” Ferree told WCPO. “They are sneaky, they create corporation on top of corporation and there’s nothing you can do.”
In 2022, Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation agreed to a $20.5 million settlement to resolve allegations that it poorly rebuilt hurricane-damaged homes.
What do you think of the allegations in this Build Realty house flipping lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Finney Law Firm LLC and Markovits Stock & DeMarco LLC.
The Build Realty house flipping lawsuit is Compound Property Management LLC, et al. v. Build Realty Inc., et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-00133, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
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